Assignment: Detroit

I wanted to post a link on here that I'm really excited about. Time magazine has decided to do a year long feature on Detroit. They have actually moved journalist into the city to research the city and do monthly reports. I enjoyed looking through the articles and pictures they have up (Detroit is on the cover this month). It looks like they will be giving a realistic view of the city with positive hope for renewal. It's refreshing to hear something other than the on going negative you always hear about Detroit. This is a city that many have given up on, but I believe has great potential for renewal!

http://www.time.com/time/detroit

Going West...to the beach!!

I have been promising our two Ashley's (who both worked day camp this summer) that I would take them to Grand Rapids to stay at my parents, and then we would go to Grand Haven and spend a day on the beach. With the not-so-hot weather we've been having, and trying to work around everyone's schedule...I wasn't sure how it would work. But this week- we made a quick trip on Wednesday. The sun was shining (finally!) and it was decently warm. The water however was a different story. But we braved it and went in (and my legs turned unusual colors). After some time in the water and on the beach, we walked out to the pier. Katie (one of our interns) joined us at the lake. Afterwards, we went to a coffee shop I had taken Ashley to in the spring to get some yummy muffins :)

It was great to spend this time with the girls. And I can see how they are becoming a blessing to each other. Both are in need of friend's who will encourage them in their walk with the Lord. I am looking forward to studying "Lies Young Women Believe" with them this fall. They both have started reading the book, and Ashley K has shared with me some of what she's already learned. I think it's so relevant to issues they face as teenage girls and helps them discern God's truth vs. the world's lies. Please be in prayer for these two girls! I see God working in their lives and know that He has a special plan for them. I also know that they are surrounded by many temptations and have a lot of opposition that could pull them down. Pray that they will stay strong in their walk with Christ, that they would seek what is good and true, get connected in a local church and grow in their personal relationship with God.

Cheerin' on them Tigers

Thanks to our neighbor Willie, we were given some free Tiger tickets this summer...which made for a great opportunity to let some of our kids experience a game for the first time. in August, my roommate Angela and our friend Matt took some of the neighbor kids to a game. Angela has been connecting with a couple of boys down the road so she took them along with a couple of Willie's kids.

Last week, I was able to take some of our Day Camp kids to a game. None of them had gone before, so the excitement of the people, food, and music was enough to keep energized! Even though we tried to explain at the beginning of the game how it works (my friend Joe explained innings as "switches" so they could understand how many more times the teams "switched" before the game was done!), they soon lost interest. Thankfully, our seats were up high and near the back-giving them plenty of room to let off energy and not distract anyone! Sadly, the Tigers lost- but with nacho's, popcorn and McDonalds- nobody was too disappointed :)